PRESIDENT DONALD J TRUMP A
F
THE MEDAL O
ormer US President Harry S Truman said he would rather have the Medal of Honor than be president of the
United States. No wonder. The Medal
UNITED STATES
ARMY
part of an assault element inserted by helicopter into a location in Afghanistan. As the assault element was moving up a mountain toward its objective, it was
of Honor (MOH) is the most prestigious
engaged by intense enemy machine gun,
and highest ranked US military award
sniper, and rocket-propelled grenade fire.
bestowed for bravery on the battlefield.
The lead portion of the assault element,
It is also the hardest to earn. There have
which included the ground commander,
been only 3,525 MOHs awarded since
sustained several casualties, and became
its establishment. Sadly, 624 of them
pinned down on the sheer mountainside.
have been awarded posthumously. The
Sergeant Williams, upon hearing that the
number of awards pales in comparison to
lead element had sustained casualties
the plethora of stories that compose the
and was in danger of being overrun,
medal’s glorious history.
braved intense enemy fire to lead a counterattack across a valley of ice-
The Medal of Honor dates to 1861. The Army and Navy needed a medal for bravery for US Warfighters during the American Civil War. Traditionally, awards for battlefield bravery had never been a priority for the either service.
US Army Photo by Sergeant Kevin Roy.
President Donald J Trump presents the Medal of Honor to US Army Master Sergeant Matthew O Williams during a ceremony at the White House in Washington, DC, 30 October 2019. Photo Credit: Sergeant Keisha Brown.
The few available prior to the Civil War were temporary in nature and not always associated with honor or bravery.
I WILL ALWAYS PLACE THE MISSION FIRST I WILL NEVER ACCEPT DEFEAT I WILL NEAVER QUIT I WILL NEVER LEAVE A FALLEN COMRADE
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The TRUMP RALLY Publication
covered boulders and a fast-moving, ice cold, and waist-deep river. Under withering fire, Sergeant Williams and his local national commandos fought up the terraced mountainside to the besieged element. Arriving at the lead element’s position, Sergeant Williams
SERGEANT MATTHEW O WILLIAMS
arrayed his Afghan commandos to provide suppressive fire, which kept the
Sergeant Matthew O Williams
insurgent fighters from overrunning the
distinguished himself by acts of gallantry
position. When the Team Sergeant was
and intrepidity above and beyond the
wounded, Sergeant Williams braved
call of duty on 6 April 2008, while serving
enemy fire once again to provide buddy-
as a Weapons Sergeant, Special Forces
aid and to move the Team Sergeant down
Operational Detachment Alpha 3336,
the sheer mountainside to the casualty
Special Operations Task Force-33, in
collection point. Sergeant Williams then
support of OPERATION ENDURING
fought and climbed his way back up the
FREEDOM. Sergeant Williams was
mountainside to help defend the lead g
